The Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour Returns

Each fall since 1976, the 10-day Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival kicks off the largest adventure film tour in the world. Over the next 12 months, the Centre’s Mountain Film Festival World Tour crosses 45 countries and all seven continents to celebrate stories of adventure, resilience, triumph and the diversity of mountain culture worldwide.

For over 20 years, Brevard College has hosted the festival. Ryan DeGarmo, an assistant professor at the college, tells us, “The festival was brought to us by retired Wilderness Leadership and Experiential Education (WLEE) faculty member Clyde Carter as a fundraiser for the Outing Club. Over the years, it has grown from one Saturday night to a three-day weekend showing, each with a different set of films. It has turned into a great community event."

Over 400 entries are submitted for the initial Banff event. The Award winners and audience favorites are curated from these to become the Banff Centre Mountain Film Festival World Tour. While the filmmakers and writers undertake a herculean task to produce content, it is a labor of love for the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity to organize and promote the venues that feature the festival.

The festival consists of an eclectic collection of stories covering everything from extreme mountain climbing, whitewater river rafting, mountain biking and wilderness snow hiking to the physical and emotional challenges facing volunteer rescuers at Mount Washington in New Hampshire, braving some of the worst weather on the planet. There is even a film about a citizen scientist who devoted years to documenting hummingbirds nesting in his coastal British Columbia backyard. His work has provided invaluable research for ornithologists around the world.

The auteurs’ cinematography is breathtaking; their stories are riveting, heartwarming, mind-bending and thought-provoking. There is nothing else quite like this collection. To call it phenomenal is an understatement.

Ten years after the first festival in Banff, organizers realized that due to the time, expense and effort of the participating filmmakers, their work deserved to be shared with a broader audience than their single venue could ever provide. They were convinced there was an appetite for the topics being presented and the quality of each presentation. It started small with only three additional venues in Canadian cities. But word spread, and before long, the group was being approached by outdoor film enthusiasts who had learned they could bring the Tour to their hometown. It would seem that each new festival inspired an audience member to organize a festival at yet another location.

For Brevard College, the Festival has become an essential fundraiser for their Outing Club and WLEE program initiatives. The Outing Club organizes trips to Western Carolina’s many outdoor adventures and recreational activities. With over 100,000 acres of forest, more than 250 waterfalls, and hundreds of hiking trails, students who choose Brevard College often do so because they are eager to explore their backyard.

A degree in Wilderness Leadership and Experiential Education prepares graduates for jobs in local, state and federal government, commercial guiding, education, and even outdoor retail. The $682-billion outdoor recreation industry continues to grow and offers career paths where Brevard’s students will excel. Taking the initiative to host the Banff Mountain Film World Tour demonstrates the school’s dedication to its student body and the community.

This year, the event runs from Friday, March 14, through Sunday, March 16. Seven new films will be presented in a two-and-a-half-hour program with a 15-minute intermission each day in the Paul Porter Center for Performing Arts on the Brevard College Campus. Event sponsors’ booths and tables can be found in the lobby. Expect about 600 attendees at each showing. For tickets and additional information about the scheduled films, visit Brevard.www.edu/banff-mountain-film-festival